Liliflower
by kathleen teresa
Summary: Lily has an abusive boyfriend, a fact she hides from her friends, Sirius, James, and Remus...classic damsel in distress-prince charming story...rr! the long awaited Chapter NINE is UP!
1. Protecting Him With Lies

*right, so forgive me if the story title sucks...  Any suggestions for a different one are so welcome...=)   And, I know I said it probably wouldn't be up til October-ish but I got so many great reviews, I had to write again lol.  Anyway, you all know the drill....read and review!!*

~Disclaimer~ You'll never see this for the rest of the story, I'm assuming you all know I'm not JKR....*ahem*

Chapter 1 

**Protecting Him With Lies**

"Look, Delaney, I've told you, time and time again, that I don't like it when you leave your dirty boxers on the floor!! Especially when they've got crap in them!!  It's gross!"  Lily exclaimed as her boyfriend and roommate Delaney Harrison walked in the door of their apartment.

"Don' tallk to me lik 'hat, 'ily." slurred Delaney. 

_Shit, he's drunk again_. Lily thought anxiously to herself.  "I'll talk to you as I please."  she said calmly, throwing his skanky boxers at him.

"'ily..." Delaney slurred warningly.

"What?" she asked.

"'on't yoo 'alk to me wi'out the rethpectht I deserve."  

"I hardly think drunkards deserve respect." Lily said, forcing herself to stand her ground though she knew what was next.  _Why do I bait him like this_?

Sure enough, Delaney stalked towards Lily, slamming the door behind him, with a look of pure anger (and a little drunkenness) on his face.   Lily backed up slowly and, not noticing the chair behind her, tripped and fell into it.   Delaney loomed over her, arm raised.   "Yoo'd dahmn 'ell say yoo're 'orry 'or 'hat, 'ily."

Struggling to regain her calm, Lily said, "For what? I don't recall saying anything particularly offensive."

Delaney's face turned bright red in anger and he brought down his hand, hard, on Lily's cheek.  He then hauled her out of the chair, with a death grip on her arms and punched her in the stomach.  Lily doubled over with an 'oof!,' trying to catch her breath when Delaney pulled her upright again and threw her against a wall.  Lily collapsed against the wall and slid down it to the floor.  "Delaney!" she gasped out.  "Stop! Please!"

Delaney's only response was to growl, pick her up, and shove her back against the wall, his hand at her throat.  Instinctively, Lily's hands went up in an attempt to loosen his grip.  "De-lan-ey!" she choked.  "Let-me-go!"

Delaney lowered his face to hers, his breath stinking of alcohol and not helping her breathing situation, and said, "Pwomise yoo'll treaht me wihth the rehspehct I deserveh" he slurred out.

Lily's frightened eyes searched Delaney's narrowed, angry ones.  "I, uh, ahm..." she trailed off, not wanting to compromise her pride.  Unfortunately, seeing no other option, she whispered, "Okay."

This seemed to satisfy Delaney as he abruptly let her go, wobbled over to the bed, collapsed on it, and immediately fell asleep.   

Lily remained on the floor massaging her neck where his rough hands had held her.  _He just drank a little too much tonight_, she consoled herself.  _And I made matters worse by nagging him when he came in. I knew he had a temper, I shouldn't have been so foolish.  _

Picking herself up, she tiptoed over to the door and slipped out, casting a fearful glance back at him as she shut it with a gentle click.

*

Outside, the cool night air felt good on her face, relieving some of her stress.  She walked over to the place she usually went to on nights when stuff like this happened, the park.  Happy to see that her usual park bench under a weeping willow was unoccupied, not entirely surprising as it was one in the morning, she sat down on it and stared at the ripples made by the branches of the willow tree.

This really was all her fault.  If she hadn't made Delaney so mad, none of this would have happened and she wouldn't have to wear long sleeves (and possibly turtlenecks this time) until her bruises faded.  She buried her face in her hands, again seeing Delaney's light blue eyes narrowed in anger and his light brown hair falling over his creased forehead.  Her red hair was falling around her face and annoying her so she tied it up into a ponytail and reburied her face in her hands.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered.  She had promised to treat him with respect.  She thought she had done that already, but apparently they had differing views of what was respectful.  She could do it though.  She could be what he wanted her to be.  She loved him, didn't she?  

"I can change." she said quietly.

"Now why would you want to do that?"  a voice came out of the darkness.

Lily jumped.  "Who's there?" she demanded, quickly wiping away a stray tear with the back of her hand.   A tall figure parted the willow tree's branches and was silhouetted in the moonlight.  It stepped forward and a shaft of light from between a couple branches fell on his face.  "Oh, it's just you." Lily said, relieved, sinking back against the bench.

"Glad you're so thrilled to see me." James Potter said, coming over to sit next to her.  "What's up?"

James and Lily had been best friends ever since the middle of their sixth year at Hogwarts.  Now it was seven years later and they were as close as ever.  

Quickly deciding not to tell him, Lily said, "Nothing, just thinking."

"Bull."

"I am not!"

"You are.  Look, Lils, we've been best friends for all of seven years.  I should think I can tell when you're lying."

Lily snorted.  "You might want to get your lie detector checked then.  I'm fine."

James turned his head to look at her, his expression unreadable in the darkness.  "I don't believe you.  Did Delaney hurt you?  Because if he did, Sirius, Remus, and I will be over there in a second.  We might even be able to get Peter to co—"

"I'm fine!" Lily exclaimed, crossing her toes in her shoes.  "Delaney hasn't hurt me.  As a matter of fact, he's sleeping right now.  Like a baby." she added for good measure.

"Hmph."  James said, turning his face out to face the pond in front of them. 

Lily sighed inwardly.  She hated lying to James, but some things were for the best.  She knew James was no weakling, but he tended to lean more towards scrawny than buff, like Delaney.  If she told James what Delaney had done to her, she knew he'd be up there in a second and Delaney would pound him into a little grease spot on the wall.

She couldn't let that happen.

*

"Hey."  James Apparated into the apartment he shared with Sirius and Remus (Peter was currently on some sort of business in Albania)  "You guys are still up?"

Sirius looked up from his 'VeelaBoy' magazine, eyebrows raised. "Uh. Yeah?"

Remus who had been dozing by the lamp, an open book in his lap jumped.  "Yeah."

"Besides, have you ever known me to go to bed before two?" Sirius asked.

James shrugged, sinking into a nearby armchair.  "Good point."

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, stifling a yawn.

James raised his eyebrows.  "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Well, normally, you'd've come in, stolen Sirius' magazine, without so much as a 'Hello, Remus,' and gotten into a fight with Sirius over who gets to read it."

"He's right, actually." Sirius said, looking up from his magazine.  "I feel forgotten.  What's up?"

James sighed.  "I'm worried about Lily."

Remus looked over at him, concerned. "Why?"

"You both know how she's going out with Delaney, right?"

Sirius' jaw dropped.  "Delaney Harrison?!" he asked, thunderstruck. "That snotty Slytherin?"

"The one who graduated, how many years? Two? Ahead of us?" Remus asked.

James' eyebrows twitched.  "Yup, that's the one."

"Our little Liliflower's going out with HIM?!" Sirius fairly yelled.

"And she has been  for the past four months. When was the last time you guys talked to her?' James asked.

"Only recently." Remus said, pondering.  "She mentioned she had a boyfriend, but she didn't say any names and I didn't really pursue the matter."

"Yeah, I talked to her just the other day." spoke up Sirius.  "She didn't say anything about a boyfriend."

James frowned.  "That's odd."

Remus nodded his assent.  "Tell me about it."

Sirius slid back in his chair.  "Delaney Harrison.  Dear God.  I got in so many fights with him back in school..."

"Maybe we shouldn't have you two meet up again." Remus started.

"He was in league with Malfoy and sometimes Snivellus...though Snivellus got picked on more than treated as a friend." Sirius said, still reminiscing.

"I think he's been hurting her or something." James said quietly.  "I'm worried."

"We should check up on that." Remus said.

"How can we do that without being obvious?" James asked.

Remus shrugged.  "I don't know, but we'll think of something."

Sirius smiled a little.  "We always did, back in school."

*and so ends the first chapter.  This is _definitely_ a lot more angsty than my last couple stories lol.  It may get lighter during some of the next chapters, but God knows...lol  Anyway, you know what to do, review!!!  (dear got that rhymed...)*


	2. The Evil Get Their Just Desserts

*lah, forgive me if this gets depressing...that's kinda my mood, just got some bad news.  But anyway...Wow.  I got a LOT of comments on the name 'Delaney.'  Weird....how come?  I only picked the name because it's meaning fit what I wanted for my villain: 'enemy's child.' It was that or 'Wasaki'...*

Responses

Bombshell—looove the livejournal!!! ::grins:: Now everyone can find out what a weirdo I am!! hehe, it's great! 

**Skittles713**—I actually didn't think of that when I was writing the story...oops.  Oh well, ahm, Delaney doesn't know Lily's muggle-born...or maybe he does and that's why he's the way he is.  Hmm...gotta work on that.  Thanx for pointing it out!

**Vamperfly**—hmm...I liked your title ideas, especially 'A Broken Flower.' I may use that...lol Merci!

Chapter 2 The Evil Get Their Just Desserts 

Lily slowly trudged up the stairs to her apartment several hours after she left it.  Checking her watch, she noticed it was 3am.  She cringed inwardly; she hadn't meant to spend that much time on the bench.  Praying Delaney wouldn't wake up, she pushed open the door, flinching when it squeaked loudly.  She froze, but, hearing no noises from the bedroom, she quickly went in and closed the door behind her.  

She crept into the bedroom, freezing again when Delaney stirred, mumbling incoherently.   Grabbing her pajamas, she slipped back out of the room and into the main room.   She threw her pajamas on and, climbing onto the sofa, pulled the afghan over her, quickly falling into and exhausted, dreamless sleep.

*

Lily awoke the next morning to a burst of sunlight on her face.   Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and looked at her watch.  Six-thirty am.  _Blah, _she thought.  _It's early_.   Though she was tempted to go back to sleep, she decided it would be best for her to be awake when Delaney woke up.  He might consider her sleeping longer than him a form of disrespect.   She stood up, only to sit back down abruptly as pain came rushing to her head.  Memories of the previous night flooded through her mind and she buried her face in her hands.

*

James woke up somewhere around 10:45am and his thought immediately flew to Lily.   Had Delaney hit her yet today?  He was almost positive that was what Lily was hiding from him.  Last night, the Marauders had stayed up late trying to figure out how to find out whether or not Delaney was abusing her.

Somewhere around four am, they had decided to use one of those Muggle inventions, security cameras, and plant them all over Lily and Delaney's apartment, preferably as soon as possible.  

First, however, he had to call Lily.  When they had all gotten flats, Lily had insisted that he, Sirius, Remus, and Peter learn how to use the telephone.  Grudgingly, they had agreed.  He rolled over, picked up the phone next to his bed, and quickly dialed her number.  After three rings, she answered.

"Hello?" Her voice was low and tentative.

"Lily.  It's me."

"Hi."  He could hear a smile break out in her voice, though she still sounded worried. "What's up?"

"Nothing really." he answered. "You okay? You sound weird."

"Ye-yeah." her voice broke a little.  "He's still sleeping."

"I wish you'd tell me what he does to you." James said.

"He doesn't do anything."  Lily lied, gritting her teeth.  "Why won't you believe me?"

"Because normally you're full of life and cheerful, but lately, you've been dull and frightened.  Nothing used to scare you, Lily.  Not even me."

Lily smiled a bit, remembering the time she had flipped out on him in fifth year.  No other girls would have dared too and even the guys would have thought twice before doing so.  "You weren't scary though." she teased lightly.

James snorted. "Of course I was."

Lily laughed a little. "No, that would be your testosterone creating a false illusion for you.  And your ego.  Your ego was huge!"

On the other side of the line, James rolled his eyes.  "I beg your pardon?  I flatter myself in thinking my ego was never huge!"

"You're right. You flatter yourself." 

James grinned.  She sounded better already.  "Listen, do you mind if Sirius, Remus, and I come 'round some time today?"

"Ah, I don't know..." Lily started.

"Come on, please?"  James pleaded.

"Oh, don't do that! You know I can never say no to you when you do that!"

"That's kinda the point..."

Lily smiled a little.  "I don't think it's a good idea though.  Delaney might do—Delaney might not like it."

"Forget what Delaney thinks!" exclaimed James. "Did you know Sirius and Remus didn't even know you had a boyfriend?"

"Really? That's odd." Lily commented.

James' eyebrow twitched.  It certainly was.  "Anyway, we just want to meet him.  You know, the usual big brother check-up.  We need to see if he's good enough for our Lily."

"Big brothers?" Lily asked.  "Remus is younger than I am!"

"Only by a month." insisted James. "Besides, he's taller than you.  Therefore, if you want to get literal...big brother."

Lily sighed.  "I don't know.  I'll see what I can---Shit.  I'll call you back. Bye."

"Wai—" James started, but Lily had already hung up.  _What the hell?_ He wondered, looking at the phone.  _Lily never hangs up on me._ Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.  _Delaney.  He must have woken up and she didn't want to him to find out she was on the phone with me.  I've gotta get over there._  He suddenly had an intense feeling that Lily was in trouble.  "I'm coming, Lily." he said under his breath as he threw on a pair of cargo jeans and a t-shirt.

"Whaizzit?"  Sirius' voice mumbled out from under a pile of blankets.  

"I think Lily's in trouble so I'm going over." James said, zipping his fly and buttoning the jeans closed.

Sirius sat up suddenly.  "Lily?  Trouble?  I'm coming with."

"Alright." James said, "but hurry up."

Remus waved an arm in the air from his cot.  "I'm coming too."

James sighed inwardly.  It wasn't that he wasn't glad for the company; he was; it would make going up against Delaney (if necessary) a lot easier, it was just that it would take them longer to get out of there.  "Hurry up!!"

*

"Who were you on the phone with?" Delaney demanded, walking into the kitchen, just as Lily hung up the phone.

"Uh, no one?"  tried Lily.

"Lily, you know I don't like liars."  Delaney said, walking closer to her.

Lily took an involuntary step backwards.  "Who says I'm lying?"

"Me." 

"And if you're wrong?" 

"I'm never wrong."  Delaney shoved her and she crashed into the fridge.  "Who were you on the phone with?"

Lily struggled to regain her balance (and her composure) and said, "Fine.  I was talking with an old friend from school.  He and his friends wanted to meet you.  They're like my older brothers."

Delaney eyed her suspiciously.  "Alright.  They may come for dinner tomorrow night."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who are they?  You and I went to the same school, therefore I must know them."

Lily scratched at the back of her neck and looked at the floor.  "JamesSiriusandRemus." she said quickly.

Delaney tensed.  "Who did you say they were?" he asked.

"JamesPotterSIriusBlackandRemusLupin."  Lily said even quicker.

"One more time." Delaney took a step forward, his eyes narrowed dangerously.  "Slowly."

Lily bit her lip and sucked in a breath, bracing herself.  "James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin."

Just as she had expected, Delaney smacked her across the face with all the force he could muster.  Lily flew across the kitchen, smacking her head on the counter as she fell.  Raising her hand to her head where she had hit it, she felt a warm, sticky substance.  Removing her hand, she saw it was covered in blood.   She shot a terrified glance up at Delaney who was towering over her.  "You. Are. Never. To. Communicate. With. Those. _Jerks_. Ever. Again." he said slowly, emphasizing every word.  "If I find you have been, well, allow me to show you a fraction of what could happen to you."

With those words, he hauled her up off the ground, gripping her upper arms tightly.  He smacked her across the face repeatedly.  Lily struggled relentlessly, but she was no match for Delaney's strength.   The room started to spin, and just as everything was fading out, she heard the front door slam open and a familiar, comforting voice yell, "LET HER GO!!"

*

James couldn't believe what he was seeing.  Delaney had Lily in his grip and was beating her incessantly.  Lily had a trickle of blood running down her face and she looked like she was about to pass out.   "LET HER GO!!" he yelled, anger coursing through his body like a poison.  Delaney looked over at them and dropped Lily on the floor where she landed in a heap.  Sirius and Remus were by James' sides in a second.  "You go to Lily." Sirius said out of the corner of his mouth.  "We'll take care of the great oaf in the middle."

James needed no second urgings.  He sped to Lily's side, figuring the 'great oaf,' as Sirius had so flatteringly referred to him as, could wait.  Lily couldn't.

He lifted Lily's head into his lap and patted at her cheeks.  "C'mon, Lils, c'mon.  Wake up.  Wake up.  Now.  Please?"

Behind him, Remus and Sirius were matched equally when it came to fighting the steroid-empowered Delaney.  Sirius was well built, the strongest out of the three, while Remus was wirier, yet almost as strong.  There were times when it seemed Delaney would knock the both of them out, but Sirius, who was skilled at fighting dirty, plus, from all his fights with Delaney at school, had the advantage of knowing his opponent's fighting style, would jump him from behind, knocking him off balance.  All three of them were bleeding, but fortunately, Delaney seemed to be bleeding the most.

James was still anxiously trying to get Lily to regain consciousness.  Remus, noticing this, yelled over while Sirius was occupying Delaney with a bloody nose, "Get a cold compress on her forehead!!" and was instantly tackled by Delaney with a loud 'OOF!"

James' head shot around the kitchen, looking for paper towels.  Finally spotting some, he gently laid Lily's head on the floor and ran over to get some.  Quickly wetting them, he hurried back over to Lily and put her head back on his lap as he wiped her forehead with the towels, taking special care around where the blood had dried.

Finally, his hard work paid off and Lily's eyes fluttered open.  "Ja-James?"

"I'm here, Lily, I'm here."

"My head hurts."

James smiled a little.  "I know.  You'll be alright."

"James?"

"Yes?"

"You're my hero."

James' smile widened into a grin.  "Thanks."

Now that Lily was alright, James had an opportunity to see what Sirius and Remus were up to.  He looked up just in time to see Sirius deliver a crushing punch to Delaney's nose.  Delaney wavered on the spot for a second, then collapsed to the floor.

Sirius brushed off his hands.  "And that's the way it should be!" he exclaimed.  "I could kick your ass in school and I can still kick it now!"

Remus smiled and hurried over to James and Lily with Sirius hot on his trail.  "Is she okay?" they asked simultaneously.

James smiled. "Yeah.  Yeah, she'll be fine."

Lily looked up at them, wincing a little as it hurt to move her eyes, and said, "You're my heroes."

*wow, I actually wrote a chapter without a cliffhanger.  ::dies of shock::  anyway, wow that was kinda depressing.   ::cringes:: sorry!  Anyway, read, review, and etc!!*


	3. A New Beginning

*wow I just read over the last chapter and I got all freaked out.  I don't know my own strength...  I really, REALLY hope this has never happened to any of you because then I'd feel bad for dredging up memories and such, and besides, no one should _ever_ have to go through that.  Anyway, this chapter's a LOT lighter than the previous two..*

Responses

**snowpixie** – why was she dating him in the first place?  Erm...good question.  I think because he, like most sicko, retarded, asshole, drunken, abusers, seemed like a sweetie in the beginning and by the time he seriously started abusing her, she was too attached to break away.

**Lily Rowling Potter** -  yeah, they're all out of school.  I thought I made that pretty clear, but apparently not.  Oh well, now you know, lol.

**Dizzy eyes** – do I really do that?  Wow.  ::feels loved::  

**Bellaclava** – I try to make my chapters long, but then I reach a point that seems like a good place to stop (or I have writer's block, or I'm lazy...).  Actually, I thought the last chapter was long (at least for me).  There are people who do FOURTEEN page chapters.  Wow, I definitely don't think I can do that lol.

Chapter 3 A New Beginning 

"Lily, you can't go back there."  James said, seriously, once they were back at the Marauders' loft.

Lily nodded solemnly.  "I know.  I've ruined everything."

In unison, the Marauders' jaws dropped.  "_You_?!" exclaimed Sirius, ever the blunt one.

Lily stared down into her cup of coffee.  "Yeah.  If I hadn't asked if you guys could come to dinner, if I hadn't talked to James this morning, everything would be different."

James mouthed wordlessly.

Remus put his arm comfortingly around Lily.  "Lily, none of this.  I repeat, none of this is your fault.  Delaney has a problem, which, unfortunately he took out on you.  None of it was your fault."

Lily bit her lip in response.

James spoke up from her other side, also putting an arm around her.  "He's right, Lils.  Nothing you could have done would have prevented this.  Would you really have wanted to ditch us for a guy who hit you twenty-four/seven?"

The corner of Lily's mouth tilted up, wavered, and a tear fell from her eye into her mug.  "I did love him though." she whispered. 

Sirius rested his head on Lily's knees. "He was a Slytherin and one of my worst enemies at school."

Lily looked up to meet his eyes.  "_That_ was _Delaney_?!" she cried, shocked.

Sirius tilted his head.  "Yup."

"But...but...he was an asshole!"

"Had he changed?" Sirius asked James.  

James frowned, mock-thinking.  "Nah...nah, I don't think he did.."

Lily tugged at a handful of hair.  "I can't believe I fell for one of my best friend's worst enemies... Why didn't I recognize him?  I didn't even know he was a Slytherin!"

"Shh, Lils, it's not your fault!" Remus said.

"Ew! I went out with a Slytherin!!" Lily had gone from sad and depressed to incensed and angry in a matter of minutes.  "A _Slytherin_!!!  Ugh!!"

Sirius hastily removed his head from Lily's knees and James snatched the mug from her hands, lest she shatter it in her fury.

"I was a _Gryffindor_.  Gryffindors do **not** go out with _Slytherins_." Her voice dripped with revulsion.  "And I let him...errrgh!!"

Anxious to head her off, Remus quickly said, "But, Lily, you didn't know!  What could you have done?"

"Dumped him before anything happened."

"The point is though, you can't change the past.  Just let it go..."  

"In 2, 3, 4, out, 2, 3, 4..." Sirius intoned.  Lily swatted at him, her bad mood evaporating.

James had put Lily's mug on the table next to the couch and was now sitting in deep thought, his forehead creased.  

"Yo, Jamesie, what's up?" Sirius asked, noticing James as he dodged Lily's smack.

James frowned a little.  "I'm just wondering why Delaney, one of the Slytherins notorious for hating those who were Muggle-born would go for Lily."  Noticing Lily tensing up at this statement, James hastily said, "We don't have any problem with your heritage, Lily, trust me, but Delaney always did."

"Yeah, I got into a fight with him once because he insulted you."  Sirius said musingly.

"You got in fights with him over _everything_." Remus stated.

"You look different from school, though." James said.  "A lot different."

"Oh, are you saying I was freaky looking in school?" Lily asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No, you always looked good in school—uh, I mean, you never looked bad—I mean...oh, forget it, you know what I mean."  James blushed furiously.

Lily smiled.  "Chill, James, I know.  I was just teasing."

Remus and Sirius exchanged knowing glances.  "Anyway," spoke up Remus.  "The point is, I'm guessing that Delaney didn't know, or remember, who you were when you first started going out, but once you moved in together, something, or someone, must have tipped him off that you weren't a pure blood and he wanted to make your life hell.  Or something."

"Wow, you sound convincing." Sirius said.

Remus shot him a look.  "Thanks for that."

"Anytime."

"Actually, Padfoot," James said, reverting back to the names they used for each other in Hogwarts, "Moony may have a point."

"I think you're right." Lily said.  "But can we drop it now?  I kinda don't feel like talking about The Great Mistake anymore."

"'The Great Mistake?'" Sirius repeated. "I like it.  I think it describes his birth."

Lily laughed, thankful to Sirius for making light of the matter for once.

*

After Lily had gone to sleep in James' bed, which he was letting her sleep on while he slept on the couch, the Marauders returned to what they had been discussing before Lily's request to change the subject.

"Delaney knew who she was in Hogwarts.  I'm sure he did." Sirius said.  "He couldn't've forgotten.  Every time he saw me, he'd make a jab about 'being friends with a Mudblood' to get a rise out of me."

"Me too." admitted Remus. "However, I'm better at ignoring people than you are."

Sirius turned to James.  "You know, you'd think for a werewolf, he'd have more of a temper."

James nodded. "You'd think."

Remus gave them both dirty looks.  "Being a werewolf doesn't affect your personality unless you're transformed. You both know that."

James grinned. "That we do.  Anyway, yeah, Delaney used to try to get a rise out of me, too.  It worked most times."

 "Speaking of defending Lily," Remus spoke up, "James, you seemed a little blushy tonight.  It couldn't, perhaps, be because you—"

"HAVE A CRUSH ON OUR LILIFLOWER!!!" Sirius interrupted, fairly yelling it.

James turned the color of a ripe tomato.  "Not so loud!"

"What, it's true?" Sirius asked.  "I was just guessing."

James ruffled up his hair, a habit he hadn't fully broken yet. "Ah...can we change the subject?"

Remus snorted.  "Oh, yeah right!"

"Why not? You agreed to it when Lily asked you to."

"Uh, yeah, that'd be because 1.) she's a lady and 2.) she's just been through a traumatic experience.  What's your excuse?"

"I—wow, will you look at that speck of dust!"

Sirius and Remus exchanged glances.  "Don't even try it." Sirius said.

James ran his hand through his hair again. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Do you like our Liliflower?"

"Ye—" James' voice cracked.  He swallowed several times before trying again. "Yes." he said, relieved it came out normally this time.

"Well, if I may offer some advice, don't go for her right away." Remus said. "She might not be too trusting of guys at the moment and we don't want to make it worse."

James shot Remus a look.  "No shit, Sherlock?"

"Hey, just making sure."

*blah, I had _major_ writer's block.  I wanted to get this chapter finished before we go back up to MA though, so yeah.  Anyway, read, review, and comment (the livejournal) if you want =).  Oh, and is anyone else _really _ready for Christmas (or December) to come, like right **now**?  I'm listening to Christmas music, it's cold, therefore...it should be December and it should be snowing. =).*


	4. A Kitchenful of Topless Marauders and An...

*hmm...i think the story title's growing on me..  What do you think?  Trash it and use vamperfly's (great) idea, 'A Broken Flower,' or keep it?  And **FIFTY-FIVE** reviews in just three chapters? You're too kind.  I was surprised how many people agreed with me about Christmas coming NOW!  Well, not really, but usually I get, 'Go away, there's still another couple months.' lol.  The idea for this chapter is credited to my dear friend Amy, also known as the StinkyMate, because she wanted me to get the chapter up, like, yesterday, and I didn't have any ideas. Merci beaucoup!

Responses

**Peanut Butter** – You know, that in 2, 3, 4, thing wasn't planned. I didn't even realize it til you said it, lol.  Dear God, the musical's infiltrating my subconscious....

**cara-Melissa – **You're right, that is weird Lily didn't know.  I guess we could say the subject never really came up?

**dizzy eyes **– Yeah, I _love_ it when guys come to the rescue like that.  Chills, I tell you, chills.  I'm all for women doing things on their own and such, but sometimes it's nice to have a hottie come to your rescue. =)

Chapter 4 A Kitchenful of Topless Marauders and An Unfriendly Reunion 

The next morning, Lily awoke, froze, and relaxed as she remembered where she was.  She wasn't in Delaney's apartment anymore.  She wasn't going to be beaten anymore.  She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, wincing as the blood came rushing to her head.  Lily gingerly touched the spot that had banged against the counter the previous day.  Remus, being knowledgeable about that sort of thing, had cleaned it and put a bandage on it the night before, but it still hurt.  Though a witch, Lily was a Muggle at heart and wasn't about to let someone, even if it was Remus, cast a spell on her wounds.  She much preferred to let it heal the normal way.

She went to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face, cringing slightly as the cold water abruptly woke her up.  As she patted her face with the towel, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror ('_Eurgh. I look like shit._') and a glimpse of the clear glass doors of the shower behind her...

She froze, her eyes wide.  In her sleepy stupor, she hadn't noticed that the bathroom was already occupied by a less than fully dressed guy, namely James.  _Oh. My. God._

"Hey, what happened to the water?" James yelled suddenly.

Lily jumped, realized she was still running the water, and quickly turned it off.  _This is the danger of staying with three other guys_.

"_Thank_ you." she heard James say as he resumed washing his hair. She breathed a quick sigh of relief and started inching her way over to the door, slowly so as not to attract his attention.  "'Then I saw her face, dun dun dun dun dun, now I'm a believer! Not a trace, dun dun dun dun, of doubt in my mind...'"

Lily froze again and stifled a giggle as she recognized the song he was singing.  It was a song she had played pretty frequently back at school; 'I'm A Believer' by the Monkees, an old Muggle band from the late sixties.  She couldn't believe he still remembered it.  

Again, it hit her she was in the bathroom.  With a naked James.  And a good view of, well, everything, thanks to the shower doors.  She quickly fled out the door and into the safety of the little hallway, closing the door quietly behind her.

_Wow._ _He...wow. Stop! Stop thinking!_  Lily scolded herself mentally for thinking bad thoughts. "Breakfast." she muttered to herself.  "I'll make breakfast.  That'll get my mind off this.  I hope."

*

Once in the kitchen, Lily dug through the cabinets, searching for pancake materials.  "God, do these guys _ever_ go to the grocery store?"

Most of the food in the cabinets and the fridge consisted of junk, namely frozen pizzas, soda, beer, chips, ice cream, and chili.  Finally, however, Lily's hard work was rewarded when she found a box of Leonora M. Diggly's Special Glittering Pancake Mix (_no actual glitter was used in the process of making this mix_) way in the back of a cupboard.  Checking the expiration date, Lily grimaced.  "This expired a year ago!!  Why is it still in there?!"  Then, shrugging, she decided, _Whatever.  All that bad stuff should be gotten rid of by the heat when I cook it.  They're guys. They'll live._

*

Five minutes later, Sirius came wandering into the kitchen wearing only a pair of long green and blue plaid pants, exposing his very nice abs.  _And the good part about staying with three guys_, Lily couldn't help thinking with a small smile.

"I smell food." Sirius said, running his fingers through his hair to pull out some snarls.

"Yeah, I made some pancakes." Lily said, gesturing at the pan in which several pancakes were cooking (and glittering).

"Cool.  Are they ready yet?" Sirius asked, grabbing a plate from where it sat on the counter.

Lily snatched the plate from him.  "No, they've still got three more minutes to go. And you're not eating off that, it's dirty!"

Sirius scratched his shoulder. "So?"

"So, yuck! Get a clean plate."

"Are there any?'

"Yeah, I think I saw one or two when I was searching for the pancake mix."

"Cool." Sirius shuffled over towards the cupboards and started opening them at random.

Lily rolled her eyes and smiled.  She hadn't felt this relaxed in ages.  She turned as she heard someone else enter the kitchen. 

"Smells good.  What is it?"  James asked, walking in with a towel around his waist.

_Oh, dear God._ "Um, pancakes.  The glittering kind."

James wiped at a drip of water that was running down his chest. 

_Breathe, Lily. Breathe. Inhale, exhale._

"Cool.  When are they gonna be ready?"

"Three minutes." Sirius answered.  "Where do we keep the plates?"

"Third cabinet from the left of the stove." James answered.

"Thanks."

James' towel slipped down a couple inches.  Inside, Lily was fairly screaming.  "Um, James..."

"Yeah?" 

"You might want to get dressed, or at least put on a pair of pants, before your towel falls and you flash us." _Not that I haven't already seen it, but it's a hell of a lot worse if you know about it_.

James smiled wickedly.  "But you wouldn't mind, would you, Sirius?"

"As long as I don't see anything, no."

"And you wouldn't mind either, would you, Lily?"

_You're right, I wouldn't_. Lily could feel herself blushing.  "James. Clothes. Now."

James teasingly stuck  his tongue out at her and pulled his towel down lower, humming stripper music.

"James!!" Lily cried.

"James, stop teasing Lily." Remus said, leaning against the fridge as he came in.

Lily was (slightly) happy to see that he was wearing a shirt.  Three hot, shirtless guys would have been a little more than she could handle.  Not that she would have complained, but still.

James sighed. "Fine.  I'll go put on a pair of pants."

Remus sniffed the air. "Something smelled good a couple seconds ago, but now it just smells like burnt bread."

Lily gasped. "Oh my God!! The pancakes!"  

She ran over to the stove and hastily turned it off.   She flipped the pancakes and was relieved to find they weren't too badly burnt.  Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.  That was good, right?  Even if it _did_ taste like coals...

Sirius peered over her shoulder.  "Looks fine to me.  Although, the glitter's kinda gone out of the pancake."

"Yeah, I know.  Oh, well, you guys don't mind, do you?"

"Not if you don't." Remus answered.

"Uh, actually, I was just going to have cereal."

"Cool. More for us." Sirius said, grabbing the spatula and flipping five pancakes onto his plate.

"Save some for us, Sirius." Remus said, taking a plate and coming over for some breakfast.  

"Yeah." James said, reentering the kitchen.  "I'm starved."

"Hegh, Wemuth." Sirius said through a mouthful of pancake.

"What?" Remus, James, and Lily asked in unison, turning to face Sirius.

Sirius swallowed.  "I said, 'hey, Remus.'"

"Oh. What?" Remus responded.

"Take off your shirt!"

Remus raised his eyebrows.  "Sorry, Sirius, old buddy, but I don't float that way."

Sirius choked on his bite of pancake.  "No, no, not like that!  I meant, you're the only guy in here with a shirt on!"

Remus looked down at his chest. "Oh. Okay."

Lily was torn between screaming and drooling.  There was no way she was going to be able to hold a conversation with any of them if they ALL had their shirts off.  True, she had seen them shirtless before, but they had grown since their seventh year!!  Wow.

_Breathe, Lily. Breathe and you'll be okay._

*

Somehow, Lily made it through breakfast without dribbling drool down her front or melting into a little puddle on the floor.  Later that day, as it was a Saturday and no one had work, she, Remus, Sirius, and James were sitting around the living room, talking and watching TV, another Muggle invention Lily had introduced to the guys after Hogwarts, when James brought up the subject of where Lily was to stay now that she wasn't living with Delaney anymore.

"Oh, I don't know, actually." Lily said thoughtfully.  "I guess I could move in with my parents, though I'd hate to have to tell them what happened."

"Or you could stay with us." James commented.

Lily raised an eyebrow, remembering that morning.  "Would you mind?"

"Us? Mind? 'Course not." Remus said, turning his head to look at her.

"You're our Liliflower and it's our duty to take care of you." Sirius said.

"Yeah, Lily, stay with us."  James persisted.

Lily smiled. "You guys are fantastic.  Of course I'll stay.  But, James, I can't kick you out of your bed anymore.  I'll sleep on the couch from now on."

James snorted.  "Don't be ridiculous.  I don't mind sleeping on the couch.  I get the TV to myself for once."

Lily laughed.  He was such a sweetie.  "No, I can't take your bed."

"You can and you will."

"I won't."

"You will."  James, Sirius, and Remus all said at the same time.

Lily's eyebrows shot up in surprise.  "Uh, don't gang up on me or anything..."

"It's a lost cause, Lils.  You might as well give in." Remus said knowledgeably.

Lily sighed. "Fine.  I'll sleep in James' bed. For now."

James laughed.

"Oh, I should probably go 'round the old apartment to gather up my things.  I can't wear you guys' clothes to school on Monday." Lily was in training to become an Auror.  

"I'll go with you." James said, almost instantly.

"No, I can do this myself."

"Lily, if you really think we're going to let you go back to that creep's apartment _by yourself_, you've got another thing coming." Sirius said.

Lily sighed.  Yet another argument she wasn't going to win.  "Fine.  But you guys wait outside.  I don't want any fights unless it's _absolutely necessary_."

"Wait outside the apartment door, you mean, right?  Because there's no way we're waiting outside." James pointed out.

"Okay! But don't let Delaney see you, if he's there."

"If he tries anything, he'll more than see us." Remus said.

Lily smiled again as she got up off the couch.  "You guys are great."

Sirius stood up and slung an arm around her.  "Oh, trust me. We know."

*

The four of them Apparated outside Delaney's apartment.  Lily tried to fight down the sense of foreboding building inside her as she told the Marauders to stand in a place where they couldn't be seen from the doorway.  Once she was sure they were safely hidden, she raised her arm, and knocked.

She shifted nervously from foot to foot as she heard Delaney's approaching footsteps.  The door opened a crack and an eye peered out at her.   "Oh, it's you.  I thought you'd come crawling back to me."

She heard the sound of the chain lock sliding out of place and involuntarily stepped back a bit as the door opened fully.  Delaney's towering figure loomed in the doorway.  _Stay strong, Lily.  Stay strong_.

"I haven't come crawling back to you, Delaney.  I've come to collect my things.  I'm leaving."  Lily pushed past him and walked into the apartment.

Behind her, Delaney shut the door with a snap and Lily jumped a little.  Pretending she wasn't as freaked out as she was to be back, Lily began to gather her things in a huge black trash bag she brought with her.  She could feel Delaney's eyes on her back.  Peering over her shoulder at him, she saw he was watching her with a sort of amused expression on his face.  "What?" she asked, praying her nervousness wouldn't show through in her voice.

"You're a good actress, Lily.  A very good actress."  Delaney walked towards her.

"What are you talking about?  I'm not acting.  I'm leaving."  Lily took a couple steps back, putting the trash bag between them.

"No, you're not.  I know you, Lily.  You wouldn't leave me."

Lily snorted. "You don't know me at all."

"Oh, but I do, Lily.  I do.  And I know, you're not leaving."

"I am."  For further emphasis, Lily picked up a shirt of hers that was lying across a chair and dropped it into her bag.

"You're not."  Delaney snatched the bag from her hands.

"Why do you care?  All you do is hit me, anyway."

Delaney looked offended.  _You ass._ Lily thought.

"Lily, you know I never meant to hurt you."

"Could've fooled me."

"It was an accident, Lily. You have to believe me."

"No, I don't."

"Lilikins.  I-I love you!"

He looked so sincere.  Lily shook her head, trying to get some sense into her. _He's a lying, abusing, conniving Slytherin!  Don't believe a word he says!!_

"I don't believe you."

"Lily! If you leave...it'll—it'll kill me!"

"Good." Lily said darkly.

"Now, Lily, you don't really believe that."

"Oh, but I do."

Suddenly, the look on Delaney's face changed from hurt puppy dog to enraged madman.  Lily shrank back; she knew she had pushed it too far.  He raised up his hand to strike a blow.

"Lily, you're staying and that's that!"

Lily summoned up her last bit of courage and spit out, "I'm not."

Delaney hit her with a blow, the force of which she had never felt before.  All she knew was pain, and then more pain as he punched her in the stomach.  She coughed.  "I'm-I'm not...not your punching...bag!" she gasped out.

"You're bringing this upon yourself, Lily." Delaney growled.

Lily coughed again and gagged as Delaney grabbed her by the throat and pushed her up against the wall.  She struggled helplessly, trying to avoid the blows and loosen his grip on her hand as he repeatedly punched her in the stomach.  "De...Delaney!  No..oo!" she rasped.

"Say you'll stay, Lily, and I'll stop."

"I..I won't!" she choked.

"Then it's your own grave you've dug!!" he roared, swinging his fist back for a blow.

The last thing Lily remembered was his fist coming towards her face, faster than a speeding bullet, a burst of pain and stars in front of her eyes, and then...blackness.

*wow, long chapter...8 pages!!! A new record! =).  I haven't had a cliffhanger in a while, so I figured, it's time for one.  Before you throw the large objects...remember...you love me....lol.  ::ducks::  Anyway, I hope you all liked it!! I liked writing the bathroom/kitchen scenes.  Sirius topless....aaah!  The three Marauders together (no, not in a gay way...) topless....triple aaaah!! Hehe.  Anyway....read and review!!!


	5. Knights in Slightly Dented Armor

***LET'S GO RED SOX!!!** ::cough:: sorry, but Game 7's tonight and if they don't win...::growl::.  Anyway, merci beaucoup much for the reviews! Oh, question, what does 'XD' mean?  Is it an emoticon or something?  I've seen it on a bunch of reviews and it's been bothering me...*

Responses

**Padfoot Hoshi** – Is it really?  I read 'All-American Girl' by Meg Cabot and in it the character explains how it's 'thing' not 'think.'  I always thought it was 'think,' too,  but now I'm confused! lol

**Ruth3** – Of course they'll be her knights in shining armor! They _are_ the Marauders after all...=)

**Cara-meLisSa** – Ay, I agree with you, Lily's way dense sometimes.  However, she felt that going back was something she should do on her own, for closure and such.

**ChickoftheDarkMoon** – I have intricate detail?  Wow...awesome!  Merci!

**Caitlin** – Well...he had to come back sooner or later...and ay! We need to find guys like them...hehe!

**Everyone who Commented About the Toplessness...** – Aaah! I agree with each and every one of you!!  I think I was drooling while I wrote that...

Chapter 5

Knights in Slightly Dented Armor

The second Delaney closed the door behind Lily, the Marauders were at it, pressing their ears against the cracks to hear what was going on.

"I can't hear anything!" exclaimed Remus, frustrated.

"Me either!" cried James from where he had his ear plastered at the crack between the floor and the door.

"There's no keyhole." Sirius said, peering at the door.

There was a silence in the hallway.

"What?" James asked.

"That was random." Remus commented.

"What for?"

"Well, on the TeeFee—"

"TV." Remus corrected.

"Right. TV. Anyway, they're always looking through the keyholes to see what's happening in the other room." Sirius said, proudly.

James tugged at his hair. "Uh, Sirius, hate to break it to you, buddy, but that was back in the old days.  You know, when security was like, nada."

Sirius' face fell. "Oh."

"Ah! If I twist my head like this," Remus turned his head in a contorted angle, "I can see in!"

"What do you see?" James asked, scrambling to his feet.

Remus' face went white. "Go! In! Now!"

James and Sirius needed no second bidding.  As Remus jumped back from the doorjamb, Sirius flung open the door, revealing a terrifying sight.  Lily was being held against the wall by Delaney, completely limp, as he delivered a blow to her head.

"DROP HER, YOU SNEAKING, SCHEMING, UNWORTHY-TO-LIVE, SCUM OF THE EARTH SLYTHERIN!!!" yelled James, his face and neck bright red with veins straining at the side of his neck.

Delaney froze momentarily and slowly turned around, still holding Lily.  The look on his face was an ugly, contorted mass of anger.

"That's OUR Liliflower you're holding there." Sirius growled.

"What are you going to do about it?" Delaney taunted, holding Lily as if she was a worthless piece of junk.

"We've kicked your ass before, and we can kick it again." Remus said, striding forward.

Delaney snorted.  "You wouldn't touch me if I've still got your precious 'Liliflower.'" he mocked.

Sirius was bouncing on the balls of his feet, raring to take a swing at Delaney.  "That's my name for her! Don't you dirty it with your dirty mouth!"

Delaney suddenly tensed, all emotion wiped from his face.  Sirius, James, and Remus exchanged nervous glances.  Delaney dropped Lily to the floor.  James winced as he heard the dull thud of her body hitting the floor.  He made to go forward to see to Lily, but Sirius wordlessly stretched his arm out in front of him, preventing James from going any further.  When James looked at Sirius in askance, Sirius shook his head slightly, still watching Delaney warily.

Delaney looked at the Marauders, standing there on their guard, hands on their wands, just in case, and said, "I don't have time for your little games right now.  Take her and go."

James was all too happy to obey, but Remus was beside him whispering, "Careful, it may be a trap."

When no one moved, Delaney grew angry again.  "I said, take her and GO!"

Still, no one moved, though the Marauders were itching to get to Lily.

"NOW!" Delaney roared, kicking Lily.

Throwing caution to the wind, James shot forward and gently scooped up Lily.  He looked Delaney in the eye and said, "Don't you EVER come near her again, understand?"

Delaney looked at him haughtily.  "I'll do as I please, little boy.  Now leave."

_Ignore the comment. Ignore it. Ignore it.  _Though his exterior remained cool, James was seething inside at the 'little boy' comment.  "C'mon." he muttered to Sirius and Remus as he passed them.

*

_Stars.  Pretty.  Pain.  Not pretty.  Ow.._ Lily began to regain consciousness, the worried faces of her knights in somewhat scratched armor swirling into focus above her.  "Lily!! You're awake!!" Sirius' joyful voice reverberated around her head.

"Shh!" Lily managed.

"Shut up, Sirius!" James exclaimed, echoing Lily.

Things were getting clearer.  Unfortunately, her head still felt like she got run over by a bus. "You too."

"Sorry." 

"Can I '_Enervate_' you, Lily?  It might help.." Remus tried.

"Keep dreaming." she rasped.  "No wands are going near my head."

Remus sighed.  "Fine.  Can you sit up?"

"Are bones required for that?"

James smirked.  She was going to be fine.  "Here, let me help you."  

Lily smiled wanly.  "Thanks."

James carefully helped ease Lily into a sitting position. 

"Liliflower, you've got to do something about that scumbag." Sirius said.

Lily eyed him.  "You're still calling me that?"

Sirius smiled. "Yeah.  Don't change the subject.  Now that you've got your stuff, and we left him angry, what are you going to do about him?"

Lily shrugged, wincing at the pain.  "I don't know.  Nothing, I suppose."

Remus' jaw dropped.  "Lily, you've got to do something.  Bring it to the Ministry of Magic."

"Do they deal with this sort of thing?"

"I don't know.  I can find out though, when I go into work on Monday." James said.  He had already passed his Auror tests.

"Kay." Lily sank back against the couch.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Sirius said suddenly, after several seconds' silence.

Lily jumped slightly. "What?"

"Delaney.  Why'd he leave so suddenly?"

Remus frowned.  "Good question.  He looked all ready for a fight, but then..."

"What happened?" Lily asked curiously.

"Delaney was holding on to you, refusing to let you go, when suddenly, his face.."

"His face went funny." Sirius continued. "Kind of like you, James, when you're taken by surprise."

"Like when you jump out at me when I'm leaving a room?"  James asked, rolling his eyes.

Sirius grinned. "Exactly."

"Anyway, as I was saying," Remus continued, with a small glare in Sirius' direction for interrupting him, "he dropped you and told us to take you and get out."

"NOW!" Sirius yelled, in a startlingly good imitation of Delaney's voice.  Lily twitched, it wasn't a sound she liked hearing. "Oh, sorry, Lily." Sirius said, squeezing her knee.

"It's okay." Lily said quietly.  Feeling the stares of the guys on her head, she quickly changed the subject.  "So, why do you think that was?"

Remus shrugged.  "Beats me."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he remembered he had an important appointment?"

James had a funny look on his face.  "That could be closer to the truth than you realize, Padfoot."

*argh, now onto the homework! Bleh.  Anyway, if any of you are new to reviewing me, if you want to be notified when I update something, leave me your email in your review and I'll add you and start emailing you!  Okay, so, REVIEW!! (and: LET'S GO RED SOX!!)*


	6. Bouncing Pancakes

*I'm really sorry this took so long, but I've been busy and I haven't had any ideas.  I still don't actually, but I'm trying... My muses are on hiatus, lol.*

Chapter 6

Bouncing Pancakes

Several weeks passed since the Marauders' and Delaney's last confrontation.  Lily had recovered nicely from her injuries and making breakfast for the Marauders had become a regular thing for her.  James still refused to take his bed back, insisting that he loved sleeping on the couch.

"BREAKFAST! WAKE UP!" Lilly yelled at eight a.m. on Tuesday morning as she flipped a pancake.  One of the first things she had done as self-appointed chef was restock the cabinets with normal food whose expiration dates hadn't yet past.

She stood in the kitchen, listening hard for any sound of movement from Sirius' and Remus' room and from the living room, where James slept.  Hearing nothing, she strode purposefully down the hall and into their room.  She marched over to the window and pulled up the shade, letting in the bright morning sunlight shine in.

"Augh! Bright!" Sirius's groggy voice exclaimed.

Remus' only response was to bury his face in his pillow and to pull his covers up over his head.  Lily sighed.  They were _such_ babies.

"Come on, you guys. Up!  Breakfast is almost ready and if you don't get up now, you'll be late for work and you won't be able to eat!"

"Is too early, Lils." Sirius mumbled into his pillow.

Lily rolled her eyes.  _Men_.  She stalked over to Sirius' bed, grabbed the blankets and ripped them off him, exposing his muscular back and black boxers with hearts all over them.  He squeaked and curled up into a little ball.  "Nice boxers." she said dryly. "Now get up."

She turned from him and walked over to Remus' bed in preparation to do the same to him.  However, when she grabbed the sheets to pull them back, she found that he had a death grip on them.  "Remus!" she exclaimed. "Let go!"

"Nuh uh." 

Lily made a face.  "Sirius, get over here and help me get Sleeping Whatever up."

"I'm ti-i-red!" whined Sirius.

"You're a big boy, Sirius, wake up."

Sirius grunted, but pried himself out of bed and came over to stand beside Lily.  He looked down at Remus and poked him.  Remus didn't move.  Sirius shrugged.  "I tried.  'Night."

He made to go back to his bed, but Lily grabbed him by the boxers, as it was the only bit of fabric on him.  Sirius turned to her, grinning.  "Now, Lily," he reprimanded.  "I know you want to get down my pants, but now isn't the time, nor the place for that.  Plus, it wouldn't be fair to James."

Lily blushed and opened her mouth to defend herself, but something he said stopped her.  "What does James have to do with anything?"

Sirius' eyes widened.  "Did I say that? I didn't say that. Forget you heard that.  It meant nothing.  At all."

Lily arched an eyebrow.  "Sirius, if you want your breakfast, you'll tell me."

"So, Remus, old buddy.  It's time to get up!" 

"Don't change the subject." Lily said warningly.

"You know, Lily, I think you're right.  It's time for me to get up. See ya." Remus said, hurriedly throwing the covers off and backing quickly out of the room.  Lily caught a glimpse of his nicely toned arms before he disappeared out of sight.

"Remus! Wait for me! I should, ah, should help you.  With something!" Sirius called, darting out of the room.

Lily sank onto Remus' bed.  On the bright side, they were up.  On the minus side, they were keeping something from her and if it wasn't so annoying not knowing, she might have found it funny.  James.  James was still sleeping.  _Not for long, though_, she vowed, getting up.

"Alright, James, up!!"  Lily said loudly as she yanked open the curtains.

James sat bolt upright. "Present!" 

Lily gave him a funny look.  "What?"

The only answer she received from him was several snores in rapid succession.  "So, James talks in his sleep. Interesting." Lily said to herself.  She yelled, "JAMES POTTER! WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!!"

"Sknnxxx—blitherspat—smurf!" James' eyes opened this time.

"Good, you're up." Lily said, with relief. "I thought you were going to be like Remus for a second."

"It's early."

"It's 8:15. You have forty-five minutes before you have to go to work."

"Kay.  Wake me up in forty minutes." James flopped backwards on the couch.

Lily laughed sarcastically.  "Funny, but no.  Get up, or I'll be forced to take drastic measures."

"And what, pray tell, would they be?" James asked, opening one eye and fixing it on her.

Lily bit her lip.  "I'll think of something."

"Oh.  In that case, I'll be sleeping til you do."

A wicked grin spread across Lily's face.  She remember something she and her best friend Caitlin from school used to do.  She decided she'd have to get back in touch with her as she hadn't talked to her since before Delaney.  She sauntered over to the couch and sat down next to James' legs.  He again opened one of his eyes and looked at her.  "I take it you thought of something?"

Lily just grinned.

"Damn."

"So, James," Lily started, placing her hand just above his knee,  "are you nervous yet?"

James raised an eyebrow.  "What are you doing?"

She didn't answer, but moved her hand up higher to the middle of his thigh.  There was a blanket between her hand and his leg, but she could feel the warmth emanating from him.  "Are you nervous yet?" she asked again.

He eyed her. "No.."

She brought her hand up higher, to just above the middle of his thigh, praying he wouldn't call her bluff.  "Are you nervous yet?"

"Lily, what are you doing?"

He wasn't cursing yet, therefore he wasn't freaked out yet. She could hear a note of panic in his voice though.. _A little more..._ She moved her hand up so that it was just before his leg reached his hips and rubbed it a little.  "Are you..._nervous_ yet?"

"What the hell, Lily!"

_Gotcha_.  She calmly removed her hand from his leg.  He wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon, she could tell.  "I'll see you at breakfast in five minutes then?" she asked as she walked out of the room, leaving James staring after her.

She entered the kitchen to find Remus and Sirius sitting at the table watching the skillet and the pancakes expectantly.  Lily had bought a special pancake batter that flipped itself.  Every two minutes, the pancakes would flip themselves to the ceiling, landing perfectly back in the pan.  Granted, there was always that one pancake that screwed up and missed the pan, but other than that, it was very useful.  Judging by the rapt expressions on Sirius' and Remus' faces, they were also highly entertaining.

"Are they ready?" she asked amusedly.

Not taking his eyes off the pan lest he miss a flip, Sirius nodded.  Remus actually tore his eyes away from the pan to look at her.  "I think so." 

"Cool." Lily went over to the pan and began to take the pancakes off the skillet.  Behind her, Sirius let out a moan of disappointment.  She smiled to herself; he was so weird. "Do you guys have plates?"

"Yessiree-bob." Sirius said happily.

Lily grinned as she turned around with the pancakes.  "You're in a weird moo—mon Dieu!!" she broke off as the pancakes she was holding flipped as one off the plate.  She ducked as they came raining down around her while Sirius and Remus practically died laughing.  Once the bombardment had ended, she peered at them.  "It's not _that_ funny."

"Speak for yourself!" Remus said between gasps of laughter.

"That's what you get for insulting me!" choked out Sirius, clutching at his stomach.

There was a sudden thud as Sirius fell out of his chair from laughing so hard.  It was quiet for a second, then Lily and Remus began laughing uproariously.  Even Sirius, who was lying on the floor, was laughing.

James appeared in the doorway, shirtless as usual.  Lily, through tears of laughter, found her eyes being drawn to his abs.  He had a cute little confused bunny expression on his face.  "What's so funny?"

Lily was about to answer, but she noticed something coming down from the ceiling above James' head.  She opened her mouth to point it out to him; to tell him to move, but she couldn't recover from laughing in time.

James' confused expression intensified as the lone pancake landed on his head and slid down his face before landing on the floor with a soft 'plop'.  Soon, even he was shaking with laughter as he wiped pancake batter off his face.  Lily's legs gave out from under her and she collapsed on the floor, still laughing.  Remus had his elbows leaning on the table and his face buried in his hands.  His (nicely muscled, Lily noticed, though she was still laughing) shoulders were shaking with mirth, while Sirius was still sprawled on the floor, his toned abs bouncing up and down from his laughing.

*kay, sorry it's so short, but I didn't want to kill it.  I like this chapter.  It was fun to write, =D.  Don't worry, we'll be getting back into the drama pretty soon, I just felt after the last two chapters, we needed a happy one.  Bouncing pancakes...I love that.  Anyway, review!!*


	7. A Clandestine Meeting

*sorry it (once again) took so long for me to update.  I've been lazy.  Busy, but lazy.  Anyway..

Responses

**kitty254781** – haha yes! I nailed the 'laughing-so-hard-you're-crying' one! Awesome, lol, glad you liked it.

**Elven Dagger – **yeah, they did go out 7th year, but, like how I had it set up in _The Wedding of Lily Evans_, it didn't work out then.  Key word 'then,' lol.

**Toriisen **– you find bouncing pancakes at the Charmed Goods Superstore.  It's about five miles outside of London.

**dizzy eyes** – the whole leg thing with James was taught to me at play practice (the day I wrote the chapter) by my dear friend Caitlin.  We were waiting in line to get measured for costumes, talking about such random things, and that came up. When I was writing that part of the chapter, I needed an idea for something for Lily to do to James and that came to my head...=D

**ThestralGirl003 **-- oui, I'm fine.  It just occurred to me as I started writing chapter 2 that some people reading the story might have gone through something similar to Lily's situation and I wanted to (what's the word..) put that out there.  Thank u for your concern though, =)

Chapter 7

**A Clandestine Meeting**

_Delaney Apparated to the designated meeting spot, an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere,  as soon as he felt the burn.  His Master did not appreciate it when one of them was late.  Those ridiculous _Marauders,_ as they called themselves, had held him up more than he'd've liked.  He only hoped he wasn't too late.  He didn't relish the idea of the Cruciatus Curse being put on him, as that was the punishment for latecomers._

_A coldness swept through the room, announcing the arrival of the Dark Lord.  Delaney knelt, bowing his head.  "Master." he murmured._

_"You were late." the cold, calculating, disapproving voice of the Dark Lord said._

_Delaney bit his lip.  "Yes, Master, and for that, I know I deserve to be punished."_

_"You do.  However, I have not the time.  Should you be late again, the punishment shall be ten times more severe."_

_"Yes, Master.  Thank you, Master."_

_"Stand up."_

_Delaney did as he was told.  He managed to fight back a shiver and to keep his face clear of revulsion as he looked upon the face of the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort.  _

_"I have just been made aware of a potentially sticky situation."_

_Delaney was befuddled.  "Yes, my Lord?"_

_"It would seem that there is a man, though not yet with as much power as Dumbledore," Voldemort spat out the name of the world's greatest wizard with extreme distaste. "who has would someday have the power to destroy me."_

_"Is that possible, my Lord?" Delaney asked, in utter amazement._

_Voldemort turned his attention from Delaney for a moment.  He waved his wand around in front of what had once been a fireplace and a dark green leather armchair appeared.  He sat down on it, crossed his ankles, and made a steeple with his long, bony fingers before answering Delaney's question. "Apparently so.  I care not to get into the specifics of it with you.  I need you for one reason and one reason alone."_

_Delaney shivered slightly at the tone in his master's voice.  It implied that once that reason, whatever it was, had been carried out, Delaney could very well become mincemeat.  "Wha-what would that reason be, Master?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly._

_"You know this man, but better yet, you know the object of his heart's desire."_

_Delaney puzzled over this cryptic statement.  "I am not sure I understand you, my Lord."_

_"You are several years their senior.  I believe you had a relationship of sorts with the girl for quite some time."_

_Delaney barely had time to wonder how the Dark Lord knew so much of his personal life before realization hit him.  "_HER_?!" _

_"Yes.  You need to bring him to me.  I will take care of it from there."_

_"How?"_

_"Did I not just tell you that you know the object of his heart's desire?" Voldemort was becoming irritated. "Work through her!  As he has clearly shown in the past, he will do anything to rescue her!  I have no time for your foolishness!  Leave!  You have two weeks to bring him before me or I will _take care of you_."_

_Delaney didn't like the emphasis on the last four words and he didn't care to be tortured so he quickly bowed and exited._

_*_

_Voldemort stared into space for several minutes after Delaney's departure.  Finally he spoke, seemingly to no one.  However, a shadow detached from the fireplace and prostrated itself before the imposing figure of Voldemort.  "I do not know if this man is capable of doing all that I requested of him.  I may  have to make an appearance myself."_

_"Yes, my Lord." the little man said in a shivering, squeaky voice._

*I'm reaaaalllly sorry this is so short, I'll try to update quicker this time, lol.  This is basically just an interlude so you know what's happening on the other side.  It's also supposed to be in all italics, but I don't know if ff.net's gonna cooperate with me or not.  It's stupid like that.  Anyway, review and I luv you all!*


	8. Mission Accomplished

*wow two chapters in less than 24 hours.  =P. you should feel loved, lol.  I should really be getting ready for homecoming right now, but...here I am writing! Anyway,

**Chapter 8**

**Mission Accomplished**

"Go!" Lily exclaimed.  "You had to be at work five minutes ago!" 

Sirius frowned, caught a pancake in midair and shoved it in his mouth. "Fine." he mumbled, spitting pancake all over Lily. "I'm going."

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Lily said dryly, wiping a bit of pancake off her nose.  "Have a nice day."

"Bye!" Sirius gave her a hug and Disapparated.

_That's the last of them._ Lily thought to herself.  _It's like trying to get kids to go to school.  Mon Dieu_.  She didn't have to be at her Auror training class til twelve, which gave her about two hours of free time.  "Accio books!" she said as she pulled her wand out of her pocket. Three seconds later, her textbooks came zooming around the corner...straight at her.  "Oh, shit."  Lily dropped to the floor with her hands over her head, as the books crashed into the wall behind her, landing with dull thuds on the floor.

"This happens _every_ time." she muttered to herself as she picked up her considerably dented books.  As she placed them on the coffee table, the doorbell rang.  "Who could that be?" she wondered aloud as she went over to answer it.

Opening the door, Lily nearly fainted from shock when she saw who it was.  "What do _you_ want?" she asked.

Delaney was standing in the doorway, his face devoid of his usual smirk.  He looked...repentant, almost.  "I've come to ask your forgiveness, Lily.  I've treated you abhorrently."

"You got that right." Lily snorted unladylikely.

"Could I talk to you?" Delaney asked, still looking like a hurt puppy.  She wished he'd stop.  She had a soft spot for hurt puppies and she might end up letting him in.

"We are talking."

"I mean, oh, never mind.  I just wanted to tell you that I was...this is hard for me to say, Lily."

"I bet."

"I'm trying to make a confession to you, Lily.  The least you could do is listen." Delaney reprimanded her.

"Sorry.  I'm listening." 

"During the time we went out, I did not treat you as I should have.  I treated you as if you were nothing more than an animal—"

"Technically, I am."

Delaney gave her a look. "Anyway, what I'm _trying_ to say is...I was an alcoholic."

Lily arched an eyebrow, fighting back a smart-ass comment.  "I think I kind of got that idea." she said carefully.

"I just wanted to tell you that I am currently recovering from my...problem.  Part of my program is to apologize to everyone I hurt during the time.  I figured that since I hurt you the most—"

"That you'd come and say sorry to me first, because that would totally make everything better.  Never mind the bruises that haven't yet healed, the emotional scars I have, the years of therapy that I'm going to need.  I'd be surprised if I ever got married because of you.  Delaney, I don't care whether or not you've turned a new leaf. I don't, and never will, trust you again.  I don't ever want to see your ugly, _Slytherin_ face around here again.  Good-bye."  Lily slammed the door shut in his face.  She leaned back against it with her eyes closed and inhaled deeply.  _God, that felt good._

*

Outside, in the apartment hallway, Delaney had an ugly look on his face.  She wasn't going to make this easy for him.  No matter.  He still had thirteen days.  He'd appease his master by then.

*

The rest of the day passed uneventfully for Lily and the Marauders.  She didn't mention the incident of that morning because she didn't really think it was important and she didn't want to worry them.  She knew that if she told them, they'd become even more overprotective of her and while, in a way, it was cute, it could also become incredibly vexing.  

*

Over the next couple days that followed, they fell into a comfortable little morning routine.  Lily would wake up, start breakfast, and yell for the guys to wake up.  The guys would ignore her, causing her to come into, first, Remus and Sirius' room and tear the blankets off them, and second, into the living room where James slept, and tear the blankets off him.  Lily really didn't mind this, as the guys slept in little more than their boxers and each morning awarded her with a view of their nicely muscled –ceps.  Sirius hadn't slipped up about James again, and she let the subject drop for the time being.

*

One morning, after she had kicked the Marauders, big babies that they were, out the door, she felt a cold breeze on her neck.  She frowned.  She didn't remember opening a window...  In fact, she had made it one of her rules, if the temperature was below 65ºF outside, then, under no circumstances (unless of course, one of the guys happened to be particularly 'smelly' that day..) were windows supposed to be open.  She turned around to find out where the breeze was coming from...and screamed.

*

**3 PM**

*

"Liiiily! We're home!" James called as he, Remus, and Sirius Apparated into the bedroom of the apartment.  They were all considerably hyper as Bell, another Auror, had brought in a lot of Honeydukes' chocolate that day.

"Did you miss us?" cried Sirius.

"Lily?" Remus called.  It was unlike her not to be home when they got home.  Usually, she was home from her training by 2:30 and was there when they got home, greeting them with open arms.

The Marauders exchanged glances.  This was weird.  "Do you think she went out food shopping?" asked James.

"Maybe she's napping on the couch." Sirius suggested.

"Maybe.." Remus said, hesitatingly.

"You don't think..."

"Delaney?" James asked. "Ridiculous."

"Absurd." Remus said, trying to sound convincing.

Sirius straightened up. "Okay, men! Split up! Search the house! Report back to me after you've scoured the place!"

"Yes, sir." James said dryly as he hurried off in the direction of the bathroom. Remus rolled his eyes and went off towards the front of the apartment.

A couple seconds later, Remus yelled, "Guys! Get in here!"

James and Sirius shot down the little hallway and through the kitchen.  Sirius was slightly detained by a chair that somehow jumped in his path, causing him to trip over it.  James doubled back. "You okay?" 

"Yeah."

"Good. Come on."

"What's up, Remus?" Sirius asked, upon entering the main room.

"That's up." Remus said, pointing at the window.  It was open.  The guys stared at it for several seconds.  

"Open window? So?" James asked.

"It's fifty-four degrees out." Remus said.

"Oh, I'm so proud.  You can read a thermometer." James said sarcastically.  "What does this have to do with Lily?"

"The fact that she hates having the windows open if it's below sixty."

"Sixty-five, actually." Sirius said.

"Oh.  You're right.  That is strange.  Did either of you open it?"  James asked.

Sirius and Remus shook their heads. 

"Look, her books are still where she puts them in the morning." Sirius pointed out.  "When she gets home, she throws them on the bed and calls them in here the next morning."

James collapsed on the couch.  "Her purse is still here, too.  It's spilled all over the floor.  Something's up, you guys."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Remus said, rolling his eyes. "The question is what?

"And who?" interjected Sirius.

As they sat there pondering the situation, they were distracted by the flapping of wings.  Simultaneously, they looked towards the window.  A large soot-black owl with a scrap of paper in its talons flew into the room.  It circled over first Remus, then Sirius, and finally James. There seemed to be something about James that it liked, for it dropped the parchment on his head before flying out the window.  James extracted the paper from his hair and unfolded it.  In a messy sort of handwriting, there was a brief message scrawled:

_The object of your heart's desire has been taken from you by one more powerful than any other wizard.  She will be sacrificed in three days, unless the following requirements are met.  In three days, you must lock yourself in a room, any room, alone, without anyone else around.  You may not have your wand.  No wizard or Muggle may take your place.  Further directions will come to you then._

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." James said, under his breath.

"Sounds like an idiot on an ego trip to me." Sirius, who had been reading over his shoulder, said. "I mean really, 'one more powerful than any other wizard'?  I somewhat doubt Dumbledore would kidnap Lily."

"What about Voldemort?" Remus asked quietly.

Sirius gaped at him.

*aah, I'd make it longer, except I have to go get ready now. This took a lot longer than I expected, lol.  Anyway, I hope you all liked it and review!*


	9. Detectives Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs, I...

*sorry this took so {very, very} long to update.  I know, I know, I suck ::smacks wrist::.  Bad Kathi, lol.  I had {have, actually} no ideas.  At all.  So, forgive me if this chapter is, well, crap.  It would be nice if my muses would come back from vacation though....=).  

Responses

***Marisa**—yeah, I know what you're talking about.  The note _was_ wayy cheesy, but I had no other ideas, lol.  thanx for your review!

***Paruety Redal**—About the part with the '*'s seeming too choppy...yeah, I could've handled that better, but I couldn't think of a decent enough way to summarize the few days we skipped.  I didn't want to just jump into the kidnapping right away.  Thankya muchly for your review!

**Chapter 9**

**Detectives Moony, Padfoot, & Prongs, Inc., at Your Service**

"She's gone.  I can't believe it.  She's not here!"  James was steadily banging his forehead against the window the owl had come in, staring out at the blazing sun.  "Why is it sunny?  It should be pouring rain!"   With a grunt, he hit the window, turned around, and slumped to the floor.

Remus and Sirius exchanged glances.  They were worried too, but weren't taking it out quite the same way as James was.  Remus opened his mouth to give some words of comfort to James, but James jumped up before he could say anything.

"We've got to save her!" James exclaimed, running a hand through his already messier than usual hair.  "I can't believe this didn't occur to me before!  What were we thinking, just sitting around pouting while my-_our_ Lily is out there in the hands of God-knows-what!"

Sirius leapt to his feet and dramatically punched his fist into the air.  "Yes!  Liliflower, hold on! We're co-oming!!"

Remus was a little more hesitant.  "James, I think you're forgetting something."

"What?"

"We don't have a clue as to where she is, who took her, or why!"

James opened his mouth, most likely to make a smart comeback, but stopped.  "Shit. You're right."  He collapsed onto the couch.

"No! No, no, no, no!  We might not _know_, but we can figure it out!" Sirius cried.

James peered up at him. "Huh?"

"Yeah.  Huh?" echoed Remus.

Sirius grinned. "Okay, on the fellyvision—"

"Television." Remus interjected.

"Yeah, that.  On that thing," Sirius gestured to the T.V. "there are all these shows featuring Muggles.  Who, you know, solve cases."

James arched an eyebrow.  "I'm lost."

Sirius sighed, clearly annoyed that James and Remus weren't picking up on what he was saying. "Don't you get it?  _We_ can treat this like a case!  And solve it!"

Remus raised a finger in the air.  "One question:  How?"

"Well, first we should try to figure out when she was taken.  Then, we see if we can recognize the handwriting on the note."

"You know, much as I hate to admit it, it does make sense."  Remus commented.

"Okay," James began, sitting up and leaning his arms on his legs. "We know she had to have been taken sometime between 9 and 3."

"9:10, actually.  I was late."  Sirius stated.

"9:10 and three, then.  We should be writing this down." Remus said as he searched for paper and a pen.  "What time do her Auror Training classes start?"

"Twelve." James said, almost instantly.

"And she gets home...when?"

"2:30ish, I think." Sirius said ponderously.

"So, she had to have been kidnapped between either 9:10 and twelve, or 2:30 and three." Remus read.

"Padfoot, old friend, tell me, how does this help us?"

Sirius frowned slightly, a couple strands of his dark, shaggy hair falling in his face.  "I think, on the shows, that the Muggles used the times to figure out who had, ah, what's the word?  Abili...lullaby...I can't remember!" Sirius exclaimed frustratedly. He tugged at a handful of his hair.  "Ah, screw it.  It was basically to figure out who was lying about where they had been and stuff."

"Oh."

Remus raised his eyebrows slightly.  "A-anyway.  Let's move onto the note, shall we?"

James handed it to him.  "I don't recognize the handwriting."

"Me either." Sirius said.  "But whoever wrote it has a flair for the dramatic.  I mean, really. '_The object of your heart's desire_?'  Please."

"Whoever wrote it had to have been keeping a really close eye on us.  You guys are the only ones I told that I like Lily, unless one of you told someone?"

"You're not in like with Lily, James.  You're in love."  Remus stated as calmly as if he was discussing the weather.  "And, no, I didn't tell anyone."

"In –what?!  Remus!"

"Don't deny it, James.  Sirius, did you tell anyone?"

"Prongsie's in _love_!?" Sirius gasped as he pretended to dab a tear from his eye. "Oh, they grow up so _quickly_!! Nah, didn't tell anyone, Moony."

James frowned.  "I'm not—"

"You are.  Now shut up and let me concentrate."  Remus chided him as he flipped through the pages of a huge, brown, leather-bound book.

"Whatcha doin,'  Remus?" Sirius asked curiously. 

"I'm trying to find a spell that tells you who wrote something.  It's relatively new, but I'm almost positive it's in here.  Mad-Eye was talking about it the other day.  I can't for the life of me remember what it's called though."

"_Writus Deciphurus_."  James said, still looking a little murderous at the fact that his friends wouldn't listen to him.

Remus looked up.  "Sorry, what was that?"

"The spell.  It's _Writus Deciphurus_.  I remember Moody talking about it, too."

Remus quickly flipped through the pages to the index.  "_Whappus Cranius_...no....Winifred, King...what? no..._Wingardium Leviosa_...no...aha! _Writus Deciphurus_.  Page 1,863.  Okay, good.  Thanks, James."

"Yeah, no problem."  James said as he twirled his wand between his fingertips. "Can I do the spell?"

Remus' brow creased as he read over the spell background information.  "It's very complicated, James.  It says here that no many wizards can do it."

"That sounds odd."  Sirius said.  "Why would they make such a harmless spell, but then make it impossible to do?  It doesn't make sense."

"You're right." agreed Remus.  "But we don't have the time to do something about that.  We only have three days."

James stopped twirling his wand and reached for the book.  "Here, let me see that."

"So you're going to do it, them?" Remus asked as he handed the heavy book over. 

"She's my Lily, and since you two seem to think I'm in love with her, that makes her even more mine.  Therefore, I do the spell."

Remus and Sirius exchanged knowing glances.  "You know," Sirius  began, "I'm not sure Lily would appreciate being referred to in such a possessive way."

James sighed.  "Just back off so I can do the spell, kay?"

They obliged as James cleared off the coffee table {by sweeping his arm across it} and put the note in the middle of it.  "Nice, James.  Way to clean."  Remus said, eyeing the mess.

James grinned as he crouched between the couch and the table.  "Thanks.  Now slam it."

James eyed the innocent-looking little piece of paper and raised his wand.  His brow creased in concentration, he began to move the wand around in a series of complicated-looking squiggles, circles, squares, spirals, and other shapes.  Finally, he raised the wand up and brought it down quickly with the point aiming directly at the heart of the paper.  Just before the wand tip hit the paper, he roared, "_Writus Deciphurus_!!"

A blazing blue-white flash of light emanated from his wand's tip, pushing the wand away from the table top before it smashed into smithereens.  James was thrown off-balance by the force of the spell and the brightness of the light and so ended up leaning against the couch with his arm thrown across his eyes.  The little piece of paper had risen two inches off the tabletop and was shivering violently, still surrounded by the blinding light.  As James, Sirius, and Remus, all trying not to be blinded and to see at the same time, watched, a bright purple line began to grow straight up from the center of the paper towards the ceiling.  Halfway between the ceiling and the table, the purple light splintered and began to web outwards and up.   Soon, it had created a little nest of purple light and stopped growing.  From somewhere in the center of the nest, a pure, not quite so bright, white light began to grow.  Shaped like a medium sized ball, it hovered above the nest, glowing. 

Just as the Marauders thought it had all ended and that all the spell did was create a lot of light, a picture began to grow in the center of the ball.  Enraptured, they stared at it.  The picture soon grew to almost the size of the ball, leaving a halo of white around it.  As they stared, the picture grew clearer and the person's visage featured in it came into focus.  

Suddenly, just as it had started, the light, the nest, the ball, and the picture disappeared and the little piece of paper, looking decidedly more battered than before, dropped to the table with a quiet smack.  Though no noise had been made in the room during the whole display, it suddenly seemed ear-shatteringly quiet.

Remus was the first to recover from the shock.  "Well."

His one word seemed to rouse the others from their stupor.  "I guess we shouldn't've been surprised." James said, easing himself off the floor and onto the couch.

"I wasn't."  Sirius said.  "But, James.  Wow."

"Yeah," echoed Remus. "Wow. That's an incredibly hard spell, you know."

"Not to mention bright."  James joked.

"I'm serious, James.  You've got a lot of power in you." Remus said.

James eyed him.  "You're not about to start treating me all different now, are you?  I mean, a little royal treatment would be nice, but it would get old after a while."

Remus gave himself a little shake.  "Sorry, no.  It's just kinda...wow."

*yay! Cliffhangers!  {Don't hurt me!}  I promise {sort of} that it won't take me two months to update again...  Not that it'd be real hard to guess who it was they saw, but whatever, lol.  Anyway, I love you all, check my lj for anything about the story because sometimes I say stuff about it in there, and review!*


End file.
